PTR: 2800 miles through the South and up the Mississippi

I love that you're going to all of the US Parks I still need to get to! Now that I live in Florida, I suppose it would be easier to finally get out and do Dixie, Waterville, and Magic Springs...ugh.

The location of the pier seems pretty exposed. How many days of the year do you think it will be closed due to high winds?

The location of the pier seems pretty exposed. How many days of the year do you think it will be closed due to high winds?

Three

I forgot to mention. You can also visit Elissa when in Galveston.

I had no idea Elissa was the "Official Tall Ship of Texas"--a high honor, indeed.

^^A friend of mine(yes I have at least three friends) just visited Elissa on the 4th, said she was fun.

The next day of the trip consisted of driving from New Orleans to Tunica, Mississippi. It is not an exciting trip so you will get no pictures. I ventured into Memphis for the first time and did some sight seeing and started my Memphis BBQ Challenge, but I'll show all the Memphis stuff at the end of my PTR.

On the morning of July 1st, I took a drive out to Magic Springs. This is a park I had never been to, although I had ridden Arkansas Twister when it was the Florida Hurricane at Circus World outside of Orlando.

Overall I enjoyed the park. Even though it didn't have the same quality theming or the vibe was very similar to Dollywood and Silver Dollar City. Everyone was very laid back and the staff was friendly. The park is located within the boundaries of Hot Springs National Park and the beauty of the area shows.

The one unique feature of the park is the placement of Arkansas Twister. It is separated from the rest of the rides as you have to walk through the water park to find it. I only spent 2.5 hours in the park and accomplished all coasters and some flats. I was extremely hot and although there were plenty of shaded areas I would rather spend that time in air conditioning.

Always a good sign. Not the concert, No Rides Closed. Another good sign, right after taking this picture someone gave me a $10 off admission coupon from a local Mickey D's.

Gauntlet: It's only a Vekoma, but I had to ride it.

Lift hill porn

There is quite a bit of walking between some of the coasters.

I figured I better ride X-Coaster

Before they had to use this.

It turns out the crane is only there for the maintenance crew to perform morning checks on the brakes.

Kiddie Coaster. Ka-Ching!

Big Bad John is a fun family mine train with three lift hills, but runs through the woods making it tough to get pictures.

Cars from the Wild Mouse.

The ride ops allowed me to go the edge of the Wild Mouse exit platform to get a few pictures of Big Bad John.

If you see something in this picture that is not a tree, it is Big Bad John.

Now, where the hell is the wooden coaster? The park has a few of these shortcuts where is appears people were too lazy to use the sidewalk.

I'm walking through the waterpark, but still don't see the woodie.

Twelve minutes and 52 seconds later I found it.

Food offerings at the park seemed like standard park fare so I decided to stop for a late lunch in Little Rock on the way back to my hotel.

But they do serve beer in the park.

Since I was skipping lunch I decided to go to this officially licensed Rolling Stones ice cream parlor.

I got a hot fudge sundae in a homemade waffle cone. They serve Blue Bunny ice cream if anyone is keeping score.

The park had benches set up around the park underneath trees, I'm not sure if these people realize that at this time of the day, the benches were not in the shade.

I'm sure the unique support for the splash boat turnaround was designed with the environment in mind.

The Power Surge ride sign, just to show I wasn't slacking off.

Frog Hopper

It was hot. My rental car said it was 111 degrees outside the car.

I tried to stop at a place in Little Rock called Sticky Fingerz which is known for it's chicken fingers and varied dipping sources. But after being ignored by the wait staff for 10 minutes, I left.

But it's OK, after a BBQ Pork sandwich to hold me over, I had a $75 food voucher at the casino and decided to try the 37 steakhouse. I got a bone-in filet, something that the New York steakhouses rarely serve.

and this is the flourless chocolate torte. I loved the meal here, overall better than the steakhouse at Harrah's New Orleans.

I have to admit that I'm a little apprehensive about these X Coasters. But the steak picture makes me feel better.

^I know we were traumized by G-Force at Drayton, but this one was quite a bit of fun.

^I don't think I've had a really terrible X-Car type ride since G-Force at Drayton. That really is the worst by far.

^That's good to hear. I actually endured Drayton's ride twice because someone in our little subgroup that day actually liked it and wanted to ride again.

^They seemed to figure out the problems after the Drayton one. Which is good, since the Drayton one is beyond horrible.

I look forward to more food photos!

dt

So far I've only ridden the X-Car SkyWheel at Linnanmaki and loved it.

I'll give a bump so I can get the next set of photos on a new page.

Next up on July 2nd was a 5 hour drive to SFStL. I had last been to the park during the 2005 Final Four, so Pandamonium and American Thunder were new coasters for me. On my previous trip I enjoyed the park and its layout and was equally impressed this trip.

It was again 100 degrees but I planned to ride are major coasters and flats. However, a huge lightning storm caused all rides in the park to shutdown as I was on my way to Batman: The Ride. So I got all the major coasters in along with a few flats, but the downpour just "dampened" my mood.

As many others have commented previously, the layout of The Boss is wonderful. I wish the ride was more enjoyable, I like it but just don't love it. Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast is a winner, but I loved the original also. American Thunder was a big letdown. I rode it in every row and it just didn't do anything for me. It's comfortable but still the least favorite of the recent GCIs.

I started my day picking up a Fright Light for Scooby Doo Ghostblasters. Even though it gets a long line (due to families) I consider it a hidden gem in the park.

Mr. Freeze was done a bit in the AM so Pandamonium was my first coaster of the day.

Got three quick rides on Victor Fries contraption before the lines got too long.

New logo

The antique car course is short but can provide some unique views of American Thunder.

In this weather. I'm sure patrons enjoyed the new water slide. The waterpark was packed.

I love these shade tunnels.

But this is my favored way to beat the heat.

I know it's an addiction, but really do you want to stand in an unshaded area and stick something that is burning in your mouth.

They make their own waffle cones (with a touch of cinnamon) here also.

I forgot that some Six Flags parks were implementing a dining plan this year.

I enjoyed the Sky Screamer.

I wise person once told me that if he ran an amusement park, he would save money by not installing water rides and just leave a garden hose for kids to play with.

One of my favorite Six Flags eateries. I'm glad it is still around.

Anyone know where to find this old logo?

The train ride has the chessiest hold-up by a couple of hillbillies. The actors did a real good job. It was so bad but I snickered a couple of times.

You can get some unique views of River King Mine Train from the train.

Along with Batman: The Ride

However at the end of the train ride the sky opened up and I left the park shortly thereafter.

I hadn't heard about the unlimited dining all season...that's actually very interesting!

I think SFStL's version is the best of the old Scooby Doo shooting dark rides.

^without a doubt!

I hadn't heard about the unlimited dining all season...that's actually very interesting!

In some of those online surveys conducted early in the year by Six Flags with frequent guests they gauged opinions on a multitude of dining options. I remember answering quite a few questions for SFGAdv.

Really like that they do their own icecream waffle-cones as those made by industrial manufacturers so suck.

Looks like a nice park but I guess down there its mostly way too hot for my tastes...

Great stuff!!! The new coaster in Galveston looks great. I love these little out of the way parks!!

I love that there's still something that reads "Six Flags Over Mid-America" somewhere in that park. Plus, I had no idea that Shaggy's "real" name was Norville Rogers.

I love SFStL and those pictures brought back a lot of memories from by visit in 2010. This is going to sound stupid but I never saw the Mr. Freeze character in any of my rides and it was one my most ridden coasters. Thanks for posting that and the rest of your photos.

^ and ^^ thanks for reading. I try to post pictures of little things that many patrons might not notice. Whether it be old theming, small bits of theming or just elements that people might not even notice (like the support on the Magic Springs splash boat) on a trip to the park. If I find something interesting, I take a picture. I realize not everyone wants to just drool over coasters and I don't have a great camera either. These were all taken on my camera phone and I know that device has photographic limits.

Great update Larry! I totally want to get to this park someday. It looks great, and some great food too.

I also remember filling out a six flags survey for great adventure about a dining plan too.

^^^Geauga Dog, the Mr. Freeze at the back of the station used to move his head from side to side, and the automatic safety spiel came from him too.